Judicial blow on Google ad monopoly ruling sparks industry debate

April 18, 2025, 5:20 am

A US District Judge’s decision has struck a significant blow to Google’s advertising practices, ruling the tech giant an unlawful monopoly and forcing it to consider divesting its advertising business. Both reports focus on this legal setback and explore the potential restructuring of Google’s ad tech operations. The ruling has resonated across the industry, with companies such as Mozilla expressing concern over its future impact on competitive practices within digital advertising. The coverage underscores the broader implications for market fairness and regulatory oversight.

Bluesky: @appleinsider.com

techspot.com / Judge rules Google built illegal ad monopoly, DOJ threatens another breakup

appleinsider.com / Google claims it won half of its monopoly case, and will appeal the rest

theverge.com / Big Tech is back on trial

permalink / 6 stories from 5 sources in 27 hours ago #hardware #techpolicy #digitalmarketing #apple #google +

Nintendo reveals new gameplay features at Mario Kart World Direct

April 17, 2025, 9:20 am

Nintendo held a direct presentation focused on Mario Kart World, where it unveiled an array of new characters, courses, gameplay items, and open‑world features. The event provided an in‑depth look at the title’s innovative mechanics as part of the broader Switch 2 ecosystem rollout. The detailed footage and announcements are intended to steer public perception in a positive direction, emphasizing the game’s dynamic enhancements and playability, while further building anticipation for the franchise's future releases.

cnet.com / Nintendo Fails to Justify $80 Price Tag in Mario Kart World Direct

arstechnica.com / What do you actually do in Mario Kart World’s vast open world?

cnet.com / Mario Kart World Direct: Live Nintendo Switch 2 News

permalink / 5 stories from 4 sources in 47 hours ago #gaming #software #hardware #innovation #vr +

Wikipedia Releases Structured Dataset to Counter Bot Scraping

April 17, 2025, 7:20 am

In response to increasing server strain from AI-driven data scrapers, Wikimedia Enterprise in partnership with Kaggle has launched a structured dataset. The initiative is designed to provide AI developers with curated, accessible data while reducing the temptation to resort to large-scale, disruptive scraping. This measured approach aims to safeguard the platform’s infrastructure and ensure more sustainable and responsible use of its rich content resources.

gizmodo.com / Wikipedia Is Making a Dataset for Training AI Because It’s Overwhelmed by Bots

gizmodo.com / Dungeons & Dragons‘ Next Update Lets Players Share Custom Work

winbuzzer.com / Wikipedia and Kaggle Release Structured Dataset to Aid AI Development, Counter Scraping

permalink / 4 stories from 3 sources in 2 days ago #ai #bigdata #datascience #ml #dataprivacy +

OpenAI unveils new AI reasoning models and coding tool

April 16, 2025, 12:20 pm

OpenAI held a product announcement where it introduced ground‐breaking AI innovations. The company launched its new o3 and o4‑mini reasoning models, designed to significantly enhance capabilities in math, coding, science, and visual understanding. At the same event, OpenAI also debuted Codex CLI, an open source coding tool for terminals that integrates local computing tasks with its advanced AI systems. Both products were announced simultaneously, highlighting OpenAI’s strategy to embed AI more deeply into programming workflows and everyday applications.

Reddit: r/mlscaling

Bluesky: @macrumors.bsky.social, @tomwarren.co.uk

techinasia.com / OpenAI releases its ‘smartest’ models yet

simonwillison.net / Quoting Ted Sanders, OpenAI

simonwillison.net / Quoting James Betker

arstechnica.com / OpenAI releases new simulated reasoning models with full tool access

winbuzzer.com / OpenAI’s Codex CLI Brings AI Coding to the Terminal, Without Lock-In

theinformation.com / OpenAI Releases New Reasoning Models, Open-Source Coding Assistant - The Information

winbuzzer.com / OpenAI Releases New o3 and o4-mini Models, Giving ChatGPT a Mind of Its Own

the-decoder.com / OpenAI’s new o3 and o4-mini models reason with images and tools

venturebeat.com / OpenAI launches o3 and o4-mini, AI models that ‘think with images’ and use tools autonomously

macrumors.com / OpenAI Releases Smarter AI Models

techcrunch.com / OpenAI partner says it had relatively little time to test the company’s o3 AI model

permalink / 22 stories from 15 sources in 2 days ago #ai #automation #ml #opensource #openai +

CVE Funding Cut Threatens Cybersecurity Vulnerability Tracking

April 16, 2025, 9:21 am

Recent reports reveal that US government funding for the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database has been slashed, jeopardizing its role as a central hub for tracking software and operating system vulnerabilities. The defunding raises alarms over potential delays in identifying and mitigating critical security flaws, increasing the risk of widespread exploitation by cyber attackers. Experts warn that this move could impair organizations’ abilities to respond rapidly to emerging threats in a landscape of escalating digital attacks.

Reddit: r/politics

Bluesky: @couts.bsky.social, @wired.com, @wired.com, @hackernewsbot.bsky.social, @macrumors.bsky.social

wired.com / ‘Stupid and Dangerous’: CISA Funding Chaos Threatens Essential Cybersecurity Program

techdirt.com / US Government Almost Kills Critical Cybersecurity Database

arstechnica.com / CVE, global source of cybersecurity info, was hours from being cut by DHS

androidheadlines.com / The U.S. Just Defunded a Key Security Database, And Your Android Phone Could Pay the Price

appleinsider.com / Online risks will escalate as the global security vulnerability database gets defunded

betanews.com / Could this be the end of CVE? And what does it mean for cybersecurity?

bleepingcomputer.com / CISA extends funding to ensure 'no lapse in critical CVE services'

thecvefoundation.org / CVE Foundation Launched to Secure the Future of the CVE Program

permalink / 15 stories from 11 sources in 2 days ago #cybersecurity #opensource #infosec #apple #software +

Spotify Service Outage Disrupts Global Streaming Experience

April 16, 2025, 9:21 am

Multiple reports confirm that Spotify is currently experiencing widespread service interruptions, with users across the US and Europe reporting difficulties in loading music and accessing features. Official announcements acknowledge ongoing technical issues, and social media is buzzing with complaints about the outage. The disruption has led to significant frustration among subscribers as teams work to identify and resolve the underlying problems affecting the platform’s streaming performance.

Bluesky: @coppolaemilio.com

coppolaemilio.com / Jellyfin as a Spotify Alternative

cnbc.com / Spotify is down. Company says it is working to fix it

cnet.com / Spotify Service Disrupted: Streaming Fans Reporting Issues

apnews.com/technology / Is Spotify down? Thousands of users report problems with music streaming app - AP News

permalink / 8 stories from 6 sources in 2 days ago #cybersecurity #cloud #software #dataprivacy #digital-transformation +

MITRE CVE Program Funding Halt Imminence

April 15, 2025, 8:20 pm

The MITRE Corporation alerted that its stewardship of the world’s centralized Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) program might end shortly because the federal government has chosen not to renew its contract. In tandem, government funding was abruptly halted, casting uncertainty over the continuity of a critical system that monitors and catalogs security flaws in products. This decision is raising concerns among cybersecurity experts who fear that losing established support may disrupt coordinated vulnerability management and delay remediation efforts, potentially impacting both public and private sector security measures.

Reddit: r/DataHoarder

Bluesky: @serghei.bsky.social, @freyjavanadis.bsky.social, @bleepingcomputer.com, @kirancodes.me, @fergdawg.bsky.social, @infosec.skyfleet.blue

bleepingcomputer.com / MITRE warns that funding for critical CVE program expires today

csoonline.com / CVE program faces swift end after DHS fails to renew contract

theregister.com / US abruptly turns off funding for CVE program

therecord.media / MITRE warns of lapse with CVE program as contract with US set to expire

theregister.com / Uncle Sam abruptly turns off funding for CVE program. Yes, that CVE program

permalink / 12 stories from 6 sources in 3 days ago #cybersecurity #software #opensource #infosec #datascience +

4chan hack exposes internal data leak during meme war

April 15, 2025, 12:20 pm

Multiple reports indicate that the notorious image board 4chan was hit by a coordinated hack, resulting in service disruptions and the leak of sensitive internal data such as moderators' email addresses, source code, and internal communications. The hack appears to have been spurred by an ongoing meme war, leaving the site intermittently offline and highlighting serious security vulnerabilities.

Reddit: r/hacking

Bluesky: @arstechnica.com, @bleepingcomputer.com, @gizmodo.com, @religionprof.bsky.social

reuters.com/business / Notorious internet messageboard 4chan has been hacked, posts claim - Reuters

wired.com / Suspected 4chan Hack Could Expose Longtime, Anonymous Admins

theregister.com / 4chan, the 'internet’s litter box,' appears to have been pillaged by rival forum

arstechnica.com / 4chan has been down since Monday night after “pretty comprehensive own”

bleepingcomputer.com / Infamous message board 4chan taken down following major hack

gizmodo.com / Internet Cesspool 4chan Is Down After Alleged Hack, Rival Forum Users Claim Credit

techcrunch.com / Notorious image board 4chan hacked and internal data leaked

permalink / 14 stories from 11 sources in 3 days ago #cybersecurity #digital-transformation #opensource #dataprivacy #analytics +

OpenAI Unveils Enhanced GPT‑4.1 Series Models

April 14, 2025, 1:20 pm

OpenAI has rolled out a new suite of GPT‑4.1 models—including standard, mini, and nano variants—that demonstrate significant advancements in coding proficiency, long-context comprehension, and instruction following. The releases mark a strategic upgrade over earlier iterations as the company positions itself to challenge competitors and shift the competitive balance in the AI space. The new models are available via the API and boast improved performance metrics on benchmarks, further solidifying OpenAI’s leadership in cutting‑edge generative AI technologies.

Reddit: r/ArtificialInteligence, r/artificial

Bluesky: @arstechnica.com, @macrumors.bsky.social, @simonwillison.net, @simon.fedi.simonwillison.net.ap.brid.gy, @mergesort.me, @tomwarren.co.uk, @the-real-kimbo.bsky.social, @wired.com, @edwinhayward.com, @techmeme.com

techinasia.com / OpenAI introduces GPT-4.1 models with 1m tokens for automation

arstechnica.com / When is 4.1 greater than 4.5? When it’s OpenAI’s newest model.

macrumors.com / OpenAI Launches New Coding-Focused GPT-4.1 Models

androidheadlines.com / OpenAI introduced its latest model, GPT-4.1

the-decoder.com / OpenAI launches GPT-4.1: New model family to improve agents, long contexts and coding

venturebeat.com / OpenAI slashes prices for GPT-4.1, igniting AI price war among tech giants

venturebeat.com / OpenAI’s new GPT-4.1 models can process a million tokens and solve coding problems better than ever

simonwillison.net / GPT-4.1: Three new million token input models from OpenAI, including their cheapest model yet

betanews.com / OpenAI releases GPT 4.1 models and Elon Musk should be terrified for Grok

bgr.com / OpenAI launches new GPT-4.1 models

theverge.com / OpenAI debuts its GPT-4.1 flagship AI model

cnet.com / OpenAI Launches New GPT-4.1 Models

wired.com / OpenAI’s New GPT 4.1 Models Excel at Coding

winbuzzer.com / OpenAI Launches GPT-4.1 Series with Enhanced Coding and Instruction Capabilities

pulse2.com / Vinyl Equity: $11.5 Million (Seed) Raised For Advancing Transfer Agents

permalink / 29 stories from 18 sources in 4 days ago #ai #software #ml #openai #innovation +

Hugging Face acquires Pollen Robotics to democratize humanoid robotics

April 14, 2025, 10:20 am

Two reports discuss AI platform Hugging Face’s acquisition of French startup Pollen Robotics, known for its affordable humanoid robot technology. The acquisition is positioned as a strategic effort to democratize robotics by making the robot’s code open for developer collaboration and improvements. This move signals Hugging Face’s intent to integrate advanced robotics into its AI ecosystem, potentially fostering broader innovation and access within the field.

Bluesky: @cpaxton.bsky.social, @markriedl.bsky.social, @wired.com

techcrunch.com / Hugging Face buys a humanoid robotics startup

wired.com / An Open Source Pioneer Wants to Unleash Open Source AI Robots

permalink / 5 stories from 3 sources in 4 days ago #ai #startups #robotics #opensource #automation +